I wish to retain all rights to this story. However, I am delighted to grant permission to any person to publish this story as long as there is no charge to the reader and as long as no changes are made to the story.

Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved.

SEA CHANGE

CHAPTER 46c — Elephant Men, pt 3

“So that’s why we haven’t had any water lately,” Reggie said. “You’ve been over here working.”

Peter stood up to stretch. “Sorry,” he said. “Jorge needed a hand.”

“Looks like he needed more than a hand,” I said. I was looking at Peter’s lower abdomen. It was a mess of smudged body paint, just like Reggie’s and Dan’s. I stepped to one side to get a look at Jorge’s butt and saw that it was smeared, just like Reggie’s and, I assumed, mine was. “Yep, I’d say you gave Jorge more than just a hand.”

Peter grinned sheepishly. Jorge stood up brushing his hands off on his thighs. “Peter said you guys took a break. We decided we needed one, too.” He put his arm around Peter’s shoulder and grinned.

“Gotta take care of the cook,” Dan agreed. “I want that brisket we can smell.”

Peter smiled. “We’re having more than brisket.”

“He’s evil,” Reggie said. “Torturing us.”

“I’m gonna get a red pop to hold me over,” I said.

“Me too,” Reg echoed.

“I’ll go too,” Dan said. “I’m gonna jump in the pool a sec to cool down and rinse off all this dirt and body paint.”

We all thought of the cool water, and every one of us dropped our shovels.

“Just a real quick rinse,” I said.

“Sure,” Dan agreed. “We’ve got that whole wall to do yet.”

“But this will like, recharge our engines,” Jorge said.

“I’m just curious,” I said, throwing an arm over Peter’s shoulder as we walked. “Did you take pictures of you and Jorge like you did of us?”

“He took pictures of us?” Reggie asked, surprised.

“Several, I think,” I said. “Didn’t you, Petey?”

“I want copies,” Reggie said immediately.

Aaron pulled up at the pool wall, driving the backhoe with Lenny hanging on the side. They climbed over the wall and approached the pool, both frowning.

“We’re only cooling off,” I quickly told them. “We’ll head right back to work.”

“Yeah,” Dan said. “We were just rinsing off, like you two guys should. You both have paint all over your faces. How did that happen?”

The five of us in the pool hooted. Aaron shot Lenny a baleful look.

“And the paint on your bellies is all messed up, too!” Reggie said, pointing to their middles, and there was more laughter.

With a shrug, Lenny jumped into the pool. Aaron followed.

Lenny swam over to where Dan and I were leaning back against the edge of the pool, side-by-side. “I’ve gotta thank you again,” he said, “for bringing all this together.”

With a smile, I pulled Lenny’s crotch to mine and gave him a kiss. Lenny laughed and pushed away. “That’s not how I was going to thank you,” he said.

“Yeah, but I wanted to give you a squeeze,” I told him.

Lenny’s smile sweetened and he glanced at Dan. “It’s OK?”

Dan nodded. “Sure.”

Lenny moved into my arms and wrapped his over my shoulders. We pressed together, and kissed open mouthed. His slender body felt good against mine and we ground a little.

“I’ll thank you guys more later,” Lenny said with a smile.

. . . . .

Peter was back at the grill, wearing only his apron and shoes, when we returned for more drinking water after building the second retaining wall. His red apron hung loose and left his cute butt showing

“You need any help?” I asked him, and I couldn’t help giving his smooth little butt a rub.

Dan poked me. “Cut that out!” he said and then felt Peter’s butt himself.

Peter grinned. “I’m OK, guys. Don’t need any help,” he said as he picked up a large bowl and started stirring a thick, yellowish liquid with a whisk. “Now go away. I’m making a surprise.”

“Better be good,” Dan warned. “Or we’ll be serving you up again for dessert.”

Peter paused in his stirring and winked. “Hmm. Don’t tempt me.”

. . . .

There was still much to do. Decomposed Granite had to be spread over walkways, dirt over garden beds, and shrubs still had to be planted. But the bluff was looking great. We rejoined the others and worked hard until the sun had set and we were all dead-tired.

We turned on the pool light and sat along the pool wall, drinking beer and eating Texas style barbeque brisket, potato salad, pinto beans, and hot garlic bread. After we were stuffed, Peter sprung his surprise.

In a corner of the patio was a tub, covered with towels. I assumed that someone had just dumped a bunch of towels there. Now, Peter hauled it out to the middle and pulled off the towels to reveal an electric ice cream maker, its cylinder packed in ice.

There was a collective groan. “Dude,” Dan complained. “We don’t have any room left.”

Jorge stood up and pushed out his gut, almost obscenely. “Look at this, man! Look at what you’ve already done to me.”

We laughed. “We don’t have to eat it now,” Peter said. “It’ll keep.”

“Yeah,” Reggie said. “We can have it later, spread all over Peter for dessert.”

“Like hell you will!” Peter said, waving a serving spoon defensively. “That stuff is cold!”

Letting the ice cream keep, we sat around talking and helped Peter clean up. Dan was walking by the pool after dropping his paper plate and plastic cutlery in the trash when Jorge sprung at him, taking him into the pool.

I walked closer to the pool to watch them wrestle when Reggie grabbed me by the back of a leg. With his other hand under my back, he lifted me up and tossed me in. Peter was close by, and Reg tossed him in too, jumping in after.

Lenny and Aaron came in of their own accord.

Reggie swam up from behind me and putting his head through my legs, lifted me up on his shoulders.

“Horse fight!” Peter cried out. He found Aaron and virtually climbed his back. Aaron, good-naturedly, went along with it, helping him onto his shoulders.

Reggie balanced me, my balls resting on the back of his neck. Laughing, he wiggled his head back against me, trying to stir me up. I bopped his head and we closed on Aaron and Peter.

Peter whooped and bounced as if riding a horse. When they got close enough, he tried to grab my hands but missed and fell forward on Aaron’s head. I shoved him and they went over. But before I could enjoy my triumph, Jorge, on Dan’s shoulders, grabbed me from behind and Dan goosed me.

We twisted and Reggie basically muscled his way out of their grasp. I held up both hands crying, “Yes!” and they came at us again.

We wrestled in the liquid light of the pool. We swam and splashed. We got hard and then lost our erections. And then I noticed that Lenny was gone. I looked around for him and saw light and smoke rising from the direction of the fire pit.

I climbed out of the pool, trying to see over to the pit and could see Lenny standing close to the beginning of a campfire.

“Hey, guys!” I said, grabbing my towel. “Lenny’s built a fire in the fire ring. I’m heading over.”

I was the first there, coming up alongside Lenny who was standing with his hands on his hips, facing the fire. “What are you warming, Baby?” I ask, laying my hand on his butt and giving his shoulder a kiss.

He glanced at me with a smile. “I wanted to see what the fire ring looked like at night with a fire.”

We looked up at the starry sky; a full moon had risen over the trees. The woods beyond the fire were dark. Scattered lights spread over the valley below. It was a beautiful night. “The Stuebings are going to love this, Lenny. It’s incredible!”

Lenny nodded.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked.

“Yeah, Babe,” he said. “I’m still worried. Just not as much.”

“After all this, Lenny,” I said, sweeping my hand over the bluff. “You’re crazy to be worried.”

He leaned his head on my shoulder. “I know,” he said quietly.

The others began to arrive, Jorge with his radio. I noticed Reggie dash to his car and return with a couple of cassettes. He handed them to Jorge. “That thing will play tapes, right?” Reggie asked.

“Sure,” I heard Jorge said.

Aaron came up behind Lenny and me, putting an arm over each of our shoulders and hugging us from behind. “You guys look tired,” he said.

“Lenny’s still a little worried about this job turning out all right,” I said.

“Why, Boss?” Aaron asked, giving Lenny’s neck a rub. “We’re doing great.”

Lenny leaned into the rub and I let him go to lean back into Aaron’s arms. Lenny smiled. “I think I’m feeling better already,” he said.

I winked at Aaron just before Daniel’s arms closed around my stomach and I felt his dangling package come to rest on my butt.

“Hey, Seany,” he said, nibbling my ear from behind. His hands slid down to fondle me, and my cock responded. His responded against my butt.

Jorge set the radio down and opened the top to slip in one of Reggie’s cassettes.

“What is it?” I asked as Dan rubbed against me. “What’s the cassette?”

“You guys are gonna like it,” Reggie said. “It’s new wave, sorta like Disco on steroids.”

Jorge pressed the play button and instantly, a pulsing sound began. “Turn it up,” Reggie said. “Way up.”

Jorge did, cranking it higher. The music was dominated by the beat. Not a disco beat, but something more primitive, more primal. The tempo was more like that of the new rap music, but pounding, heart quickening. Dan murmured and ground harder against me.

The beat gave the night a raw, wild feel. Seven naked bodies with flesh tones of gold from the firelight, and highlights of silver from the full moon above, began to rock. And cocks, as they swung back and forth, began to rise.

“Oh, man,” Peter said. “I’ll be right back.” And he went dashing for the house. In a moment he returned carrying Dan’s bag of body paint. “We need war paint,” he said, opening the bag.

Peter grabbed a tube of red paint and stepped up to Lenny who was dancing with Aaron; or more exactly, dancing for Aaron. Aaron wasn’t much of a dancer and didn’t move a whole lot. Grinning, Peter put paint onto his fingers and laying them beside Lenny’s nose, he spread a swath of red over Lenny’s high cheekbones; first one side, then the other.

Lenny held Peter by the hips while he did it and ‘rubbed trunks.’ The music pulsed, and Peter’s smile was quickly replaced by a more intense look as he rubbed red over Lenny’s pecs and belly. He grabbed Lenny’s shoulders and kissed him hard before pulling back and moving on to Aaron.

No one was smiling now, and everyone was hard. Dan pressed me from behind as our hips circled together with the beat. Reggie pressed in behind Jorge.

Peter reached up, spreading yellow this time, with remnants of red, out over the planes of Aaron’s cheeks and then down over his throat and chest. Like Lenny before him, Aaron held Peter tightly by the hips and rubbed cocks that were now fully hard. Peter smeared paint thickly over Aaron’s pecs, and then wiped off what remained onto Aaron’s biceps. He grabbed Aaron’s shoulders and they kissed.

Peter came to me next, light from the fire playing across his long, golden hair. He still had yellow paint on his hand and placed it, heel down, on my shaved pubes. As I grabbed his hips and pulled him close, he slid his hand, and yellow paint up my belly.

He spread more paint onto his fingertips and rubbed it onto my nipples, one at a time. He spread yellow over my cheekbones and in a swath over my forehead. His face was flushed and our bellies kissed with his shallow breath. His hands spread yellow paint on the back of my shoulders and up the back of my neck as his mouth pressed mine in a kiss that turned almost fierce.

Dan stepped around me. Peter stepped back to grab the bag and dumped out all the tubes of paint. Among the other things that spilled out was a tube of lube.

Peter used green on Dan, along with smudges of other paint that remained on his hands. He spread the paint over Dan’s cheeks and down his arms. Peter put more onto his hands and reaching down, grabbed Dan’s butt, spreading green.

He used orange on Reggie, looking small as he stood before him. He drew three lines out over each cheek. He spread paint, open-handed, over Reggie’s pecs, and then outlined Reggie’s ab muscles with a fingertip. He made bands of orange around Reggie’s biceps, and then Reggie grabbed his butt and lifted Peter up, bringing their cocks level as he bent to give Peter a kiss and Pete left orange streaks in Reggie’s hair.

We kept dancing. I looked over to see Lenny pressing Aaron from behind, hands on Aaron’s hips, matching his movements.

Dan faced me and slid his right leg between mine, my right leg between his. We held each other’s waist and ground together to the music. As Peter moved on to Jorge, Reg came up beside us, grinding on my hip.

Jorge picked up a tube of red paint and was waiting when Peter stepped up to him with a tube of blue. They spread the paint over each other’s bodies. The spreading became indiscriminate as their mouths met and their hands roamed.

Each new cut on the cassette sounded much like the one before, and the throbbing beat echoed off the woods behind us.

Lenny grabbed up the tube of lube, and returning to stand behind Aaron, he reached down under Aaron’s butt.

Dan turned, backing into me, rubbing his butt back against my erection. I pulled him to me with a hand low on his belly and one high on his chest. His muscles worked under the flats of my hands as we ground to the beat. I sucked on his neck and watched Reggie move around in front of Dan. He closed his hand over Dan’s cock, stroking it in rhythm with the music. Dan leaned his head back onto my shoulder and his high, half-laugh, half-sigh floated up with the sparks from the fire.

Aaron had knelt sideways on the first row of rock seats and leaned on the second row. Lenny knelt behind and I watched him guide his cock in to Aaron before he molded his body to the back of Aaron’s and wrapped his arms under him.

Reg turned his back to us and rubbed his butt back against Dan just as Dan was doing to me. Peter and Jorge were entwined, moving to the music. I nibbled on the side of Dan’s neck and watched the firelight play on their bodies -- Jorge, slender and taller; Peter, white and more tightly built. When Jorge’s hands dropped to Peter’s butt and kneaded, I ground harder against Dan’s butt.

Reggie turned back toward Dan and dropped to his knees in front of him. His dark hands grabbed the white flesh of Dan’s hips and he buried his face in Dan’s moving crotch.

Dan moaned and arched back against me, the back of his head rolling on my shoulder.

“I know what comes next,” I whispered in his ear. “After he sucks you.”

“Not if you beat him to it,” Dan whispered back.

I was ready, and more than hungry; excited by the sex and the primeval beat of the music. I pressed his belly with the palms of my hand, pulling him back to me. His head rolled on my shoulder and he kissed the side of my neck, and I kissed his throat.

I considered simply trying to find him with my cock head as we stood there, but the angle was wrong and I didn’t have much precum yet. “Lenny,” I called and held up my hand.

He looked up from where he’d been chewing on the middle of Aarons back.

I glanced at the tube of lube and held my hand a little higher.

Picking up the tube of lube, he tossed it to me, smiled, and then bent back over Aaron. I chewed on Dan’s back while stroking lube into his crack. Then I lubed myself and bending a little at the knees, I guided my cockhead up between his buns.

Dan held still until I found my way in. “Little Seany’s come home,” I said over the music.

Dan leaned his head back on my shoulder once more, and I returned my hands to where they had been on his belly and chest. I held his familiar body tight in mine, his butt snug in my crotch, and we ground together to the music. I sucked on his neck and felt his hands slide down my sides.

Jorge had dropped to his hands and knees on the first row of rock seats and Peter grabbed the tube of lube from where it lay by my feet. He quickly knelt behind Jorge and took the cap off the lube.

Despite the raw randiness of the night, I was in no hurry. Dan and I hadn’t done it like this in a long time and I was enjoying the different feel. Reggie was fired-up, though, working enthusiastically on Dan’s cock. Dan’s body shuddered in my arms, and I felt him clench on my cock.

In a few seconds, he clenched again, and then again. Finally, Dan arched back and I held him up as he clung to Reggie’s head, and cried out softly.

Dan’s body gave a final shudder, and then Reggie pulled off. I held still for a moment, and Dan relaxed in my arms. I considered waiting until later to “get off” myself, but then Reg stood up and Dan bent from the waist, backing against me while lifting Reggie’s cock in the palm of his hand.

I moved my hips again, and as Dan’s mouth closed over then end of Reggie’s cock, he ground his butt against me.

Holding Dan by the hips I admired the graceful flair of his narrow butt and the long, slender V of his torso. I watched my cock slide in and out of him and tried to send little ripples through his ass with my bumping. And I watched Reggie’s magnificent black body as he held Dan’s head and moved his hips slightly. The side of his body toward the fire was all gold and black. Moonlight lit his chiseled muscles on hit other side, giving an almost stark counterbalance.

And Reggie was watching me. Our eyes met, and we shuddered when a cool breeze came through.

Lenny arched back, pounding into Aaron, and then froze, his mouth open silently under the moon. And then he relaxed and pulled out, giving Aaron’s back a final kiss. Aaron sat back, dropping his legs over the front of the rocks, and stroked his erection skyward. Lenny pressed his mouth to Aaron’s and moved in to straddle his lap.

Strange dynamics there, I thought. Aaron, always so dominant, sharing dominance with Lenny, of all people. And yet it was right. And for all the wildness in the air that night, all the desire of the day pouring itself out in fire and drum beats, it was right; it was natural. We were male, we were young, we were strong. But we were also friends.

I looked down at Dan’s body and remembered the conversation at Professor Armstrong’s table; I remembered the remark from the law student about demeaning ourselves with what we did. But it seemed to me that whatever a person did for his lover, as part of loving his lover, was never demeaning, but a gift. Dan was giving me pleasure.

And what were we doing with our friends? We were pleasing each other. We were… having fun. No, make that ecstasy. We were making wild love together. At one moment, we were warriors, banding, in the next we were friends being as intimate as friends can ever be.

No one was demeaning anyone. We liked what we were doing. I figured Dan was enjoying sucking Reg. Just like there were times when I really, really liked sucking Little Danny, playing with the skin of Dan’s uncut cock, enjoying the feel of him in my hand and mouth, loving his scent.

Not that people didn’t use each other. I thought of guys who wanted girls to give them head without ever giving anything back. And that struck me as demeaning.

But all that passed through my mind in a moment, and then my concentration returned to Dan and all our fire-lit bodies. Lenny was riding Aaron now, in a way that few could. And Aaron’ legs writhed under him, Aaron’s hands roamed his sides and back, and their lips never parted.

Jorge was behind Peter now, taking his turn. He had started by kneeling behind Peter who was on all fours, but once he was inside him, Jorge sat back on his haunches, pulling Peter back into his lap so that they were nested like frogs and their hips moved in a rapid counter rhythm.

. . . . .

We basked by the fire afterward. Aaron and Lenny left in the direction of the hot tub. Peter reclined in Jorge’s arms. I reclined, my head in Dan’s lap with one leg dangling over the front of the rock seats and the other cocked up on them. My cock, still thick, lay out across my leg, and I could feel the rubbery thickness of Dan’s under the back of my head as he leaned back on his elbows.

Reggie had recovered quickly and was dancing, swiveling hips, swinging cock. We all watched Reggie who seemed oblivious to us, hands exploring his body, head back, looking up into the dark sky.

And then he grew hard again, and suddenly he was watching me; only me. His eyes held mine as he danced closer, his body undulating in the unmistakable movements of a mating dance.

Peter and George watched spellbound as Reggie gyrated closer and closer. I glanced up at Dan’s face. His eyes were on Reggie’s bare pubes and swinging meat.

And then Reg crawled up onto all fours on the rock seats next to my feet. He moved with his weight low between his shoulders and his legs back, like a great cat on the stalk. He moved my cocked leg more to the side, spreading me, and moved up over me. Supporting his weight on his hands and knees, he lowered his hips; only his hips, and rubbed his cock up my stiffening one. He raised his hips, then lowered them to do it again; and again. His eyes bore down into mine, hungry, desiring, ready to take what he wanted.

“Geez,” Dan said. “Again, already?” He got up from under my head and laid my head back on the rocks. “I’m ready for some of that ice cream.”

It surprised me for a moment; Dan had as much stamina as I did and I was about ready to go again. I leaned my head back to see Dan leaving the fire circle. And hot as Reggie was making me, if Dan was leaving, it was time to leave.

I looked back up at Reggie whose brow had furrowed. I patted his side. “I’d love to, Reg. But later, OK Dude?”

He groaned and collapsed onto me, wrapping his strong arms around me. “Oh, damn,” I gasped as he settled between my legs. Resisting the desire to stay right there, I put my hands on Reggie’s thick shoulder muscles and pushed. “We’ll miss all the ice cream.”

Reggie laughed and pushed up onto his hands. “I can give you cream, Sandwich Man.”

“Yeah, well, my cream machine needs recharging,” I said, patting his cheek.

With a playful grumble, Reggie got up and pulled me to my feet. “Later,” he said, grabbing a handful of my butt. “Count on it.”

. . . . .

Peter moved the ice cream maker to a spot beside the hot tub and passed out bowls of homemade vanilla ice cream to the rest of us, who were all in the hot tub.

Aaron, sitting next to Lenny on a bench, held up his bowl. “This is the only way to eat ice cream when you’re naked on a cool evening,” he said. “In a hot tub.”

We all murmured our assent.

Reggie had crawled in beside Jorge, across from Aaron and Lenny. Dan and I took the bench in the middle. Once we all had bowls, Peter got his own and slid into the hot tub, squatting to eat his ice cream while leaning back against the wall shared with the pool. We played footsies while we ate.

I’d never had a richer, creamier homemade ice cream in my life, and I said so.

“Best I ever had,” echoed around the hot tub.

“I think the cook deserves a reward,” Reggie said.

Peter eyed Reggie suspiciously.

“Well we aren’t spreading this ice cream on him,” I said. “It’s too good to waste.”

“There’s hardly any left,” Peter said.

“There’s some left?” Aaron asked, surprised.

“Yep.”

Both Aaron and Reggie jumped up with their bowls and raced for the ice cream bucket.

“Guess we won’t be frosting Peter’s balls tonight,” I said, nudging his leg, across from me, with my toe.

Aaron and Reggie returned with bowls half full.

“How much is left?” Jorge asked.

“None,” Aaron said, slipping in beside Jorge where Reggie had been sitting. “But I’ll share.” He spooned up some and held it in front of Jorge who smiled and swallowed it.

“I think the cook should get to pick whomever he wants to spend the night with tonight,” Reggie said, slipping in beside Lenny. “He deserves it.”

Peter looked thoughtful.

“Geez, he’s gotta be sexed out,” I said. “We all are. He probably wants to sleep by himself.”

Peter shot me the finger.

“Oh,” I said. “I guess I was wrong. I forgot that he and his brother are little fuckbunnies.”

Peter frowned at the word ‘little.’ I needed to remember that he didn’t like that.

If you had asked me in the morning, I would have said it was a no-brainer. If Peter were to pick someone, he would pick Lenny. But Lenny had been with Aaron all day and like me, Peter may have seen some of the looks they’d exchanged. They certainly tag-teamed their sex well that evening. I half-expected them to get it on again tonight. And just then, the two of them exchanged one of those looks again, across the hot tub.

That would leave Jorge free, and he’d probably go with the flow, though I figured he might want to be with Dan and me if Aaron was with Lenny.

And then there was Reggie, who I suspected would choose me again if he could. In addition to the looks he’d been giving me, our sex that afternoon had been hot and his dance, moments before, left no doubt of his interest.

That at least some of the guys would get it on again, I had no doubt. After all, we were teens, and gay, and had little trouble with sexual endurance.

But whom would Peter choose?

“Well I think we ought to do it,” Jorge said. “Let Peter pick whoever he wants. He’s earned it.”

“Can I pick two?” he asked.

The guys laughed and several toes reached across to poke him.

Despite the talk, nobody made a move to leave the hot tub. The warm water relaxed us, and the ice cream had mellowed us. We laid our heads back and looked up into the sky, and entered into one of those free-wheeling discussions that college students love; talking about everything from politics to music and even a spot of religion, or rather, professors’ views of religion, which led into professors’… and others’ views of gays.

“It’s still not cool to be out,” Dan said. “Even at UT where people are pretty liberal, guys end up avoiding you once they find out you’re gay.”

“Yeah, girls seem to handle it better,” Jorge said. “You’d think guys would be happy for other guys to be gay. It leaves more girls for them.”

“It’s because every guy has a few gay urges,” I said, knowingly. “Meeting a gay guy can stir them up and it unsettles straight guys because of how they think everybody condemns gay feelings.”

Aaron laughed. “You’ve been hanging around Dan too long. You’re beginning to sound like a psychology professor.”

“When it comes to gay things,” I said. “I’ve done a lot of reading. Like, did you know that lots of animals do gay things? Like male baboons show dominance and political alliances by mounting each other?”

“Mounting as in… fucking?” Reggie asked, surprised.

“Dogs do it,” Peter said. “If you live on a ranch, you know animals do it. At least sometimes. Like, sheep do it… and a lot of times, it’s the females.”

“Did you know,” I added, “that in at least one breed of whales – I can’t remember which…”

“Humpbacks,” Dan quickly interjected, earning a few chuckles.

“Whatever,” I said, elbowing him. “Anyway, sometimes all the young male whales in a pod – that’s a whale herd -- move apart and they all swim together, rubbing their bodies on each other until the water broils with whales and sperm?”

“That sounds cool,” Peter said, grinning. “We’re in the water. Let’s broil.”

“Shit, Peter,” I said. “What do you think we just did?”

“That wasn’t a broil,” he protested. “We weren’t all rubbing on each other.”

“It was a meltdown,” Dan murmured looking up into the sky.

“It was the hottest I’ve ever been,” Reggie proclaimed. “Anytime you guys want to do a meltdown, count me in.”

“Or a broil,” Peter said.

“Fuckbunny,” I said, accusingly. “I told you guys that he and his twin brother were born horny.”

“You’ve got a twin brother?” Reggie asked.

“Identical twins,” Dan said.

“Cool,” Reggie said thoughtfully, taking a new interest in Peter.

“Careful,” I told him. “I got sandwiched by the two of them a couple of weeks back and it sent me to the doctor.”

Reggie’s jaw dropped.

“Irritated prostate,” I said. “Had to pee all the time.” I glanced at Peter. “The two of them really get into it – used to riding horses I guess.”

Peter grinned. “Bulls… riding bulls. Sorry.”

“Yeah, you look sorry,” I said.

Peter blew me a kiss.

“So how come your brother isn’t here, too?” Reggie asked.

Peter shrugged. “Alan’s not gay like us. He’s mainly straight, but likes to mess around a little, you know?”

Reggie’s brow furrowed. “I sorta thought that… about myself, you know. I like girls, but, well hell, if I could have you guys around all the time, I’d never look at another girl again.”

“Seany likes girls,” Dan said. “But he’s almost over it.” He grinned and kissed my cheek.

“I still think we ought to do a broil,” Peter said with something approaching a pout.

Reggie reached over and pulled Peter into his lap. “We’ll give you a broil,” Reggie growled playfully. He and Lenny tickled him and then passed him on to Dan and me who tickled him and felt him up properly, and then we passed him on to Aaron and Jorge who tickled him, and then let him stay in their laps as we resumed our discussion.

Eventually, Aaron shifted back over beside Lenny to talk about plans for getting as much done as we could in the morning, and they hung back in the hot tub after the rest of us drifted inside.

. . . . .

Peter started a fire going in the fireplace and the rest of us watched his tight little body as he did.

“Who’s it going to be, Peter?” Jorge asked. “Who are you going to pick to spend the night with?”

Peter turned around, sitting with his back to the fire and pulled up his knees, smiling. “Let me see,” he said thoughtfully. “I need to look you over.”

“What’s left to see?” I asked.

Peter looked sternly at me and crooked a finger. Fighting a grin, I stepped forward.

Peter made a little circle with his finger, so I turned around for him.

He rubbed his chin and then crooked his finger for Daniel. After Daniel, he called Reggie forward. And then, finally Jorge. Then he sat, thinking.

I yawned. “If you don’t decide soon,” I said. “I’m going to bed.”

“No way!” Peter said and jumped to his feet. He took my hand and then he took Daniel’s. “You two guys,” he said.

Jorge shrugged and then looked Reggie over, who looked him over.

Dan and I quickly hit the john together where we agreed to give Peter the royal treatment. By the time we returned, Jorge and Reggie were under a blanket on Jorge and Aaron’s mattress, talking, and I assumed from their movements, casually feeling each other up.

Through the glass door, I could see Lenny and Aaron outside in the hot tub. In the moonlight I could see that Lenny was in Aaron’s lap again, facing him, his arms over Aaron’s shoulders. He laughed at something Aaron said, and then they kissed.

“Come on, Sean” Peter called. He was on his stomach on our mattress. Dan and I crawled in under the blanket and rolled onto him, one on either side.

“Well, chef?” I asked quietly, rubbing my flaccid cock on his firm, bubble butt. “What’s your pleasure?”

“Backrub first,” he said.

“One backrub coming up,” I told him.

We really did give Peter a backrub of sorts. We were in a mood to please him. Peter really had worked hard for all of us. And he was also our friend. And cute as hell, of course.

Nevertheless, we were also getting sleepy and in a mood to do the deed and get to sleep. The backrub quickly became a body rub with stiffening erections and plenty of chewing on the back of the neck.

“What next?” Dan whispered.

“Me in the middle,” Peter said without hesitation.

“Ah, you’ve been thinking about it,” I said.

“Yeah,” he answered with a heavy-lidded grin.

We rolled him over. I wrapped my legs around one of his, Dan wrapped his around the other. We kissed him and rubbed his belly. We sucked his neck and fondled his balls.

“Who do you want in front?” Dan asked.

Peter chewed his lip, thinking. “You,” he said to Dan.

So Dan retrieved lube and, giving it to Peter, rolled onto his side and backed up to him. Peter wasted no time lubing Dan up, and spooned in.

I took more time, caressing Peter’s butt, rubbing between his legs, kissing the side of his neck. I lubed him, and then when I entered him, I did it coming in over his side, so that I folded my body over both of theirs. I wanted to do nice things for each of them with my hands.

. . . . .

It was much later when Lenny and Aaron came inside. They had made love together at least three times that day by my count. I was pleased because I thought that Aaron could give Lenny something different in a friendship. An alliance of sorts – a genuine partnership; a team of two for the purpose of accomplishing a project. That can be a special kind of bonding that makes a guy really feel good about himself.

Lenny lay down on his couch, but Aaron evidently intended to sleep with Jorge. The fire had died down and no kitchen lights were on. So Aaron didn’t see Reggie until he climbed into his bed and found him there. There was some bumping and shuffling and settling in. Shortly afterward, Reggie moved to the couch.

I didn’t get the sense that there had been any disagreement, but that he was simply getting comfortable and out of the way of Aaron and Jorge. Peter had fallen asleep, spooned to Daniel’s back, in almost the same position he had been in after we made love. I backed up to him and fell asleep with my butt against his. I thought about going to keep Lenny company, but I heard his regular breathing and decided that he was fine. Aaron had taken good care of him.

I knew Reggie had been taken care of as well; it was obvious when he topped Jorge under their blanket mainly because Jorge’s uplifted knees came out from under the blanket on either side.

. . . . .

Someone shook my shoulder during the night and I groaned. This was not the best weekend for sleep. I struggled to focus. Reggie’s face was in front of mine. “Sleep with me,” he said.

It sounded more like a request for company than for sex. I remembered that Reg had slept by himself the night before too. And I remembered his look in the morning when he realized that he had been the only one. I smiled.

That was all that Reggie needed. He slid his arms under me and picked me up, carrying me to his couch. When he put me down, I snuggled into the back of the couch. He crawled in behind, pulling the cover of his bedroll over us.

At first, as he snuggled in behind me, he wasn’t fully hard. But as he caressed my body and pressed himself to my backside, he grew erect against my butt. He kissed my neck and the side of my face. He smelled my hair and ran his hand appraisingly over my shoulders and sides. His hand moved over my butt and hips, and then dipped in front of me to caress my cock and tease it to a hardness to match his.

His fingers found my balls and my cock responded sooner than I thought it would.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered. “You really are. When I look at you, I get all hollow inside. I liked you the first time I met you, Sean. But the more I’m around you, the more I want you.”

I rolled to face him. “Reggie,” I whispered. “I have a lover. You know that. I like you a lot. You know that, too. But I belong to Dan.”

He nodded slowly and laid his large hand on the side of my face. “Just spend the night with me tonight,” he whispered and kissed my lips lightly. “Let me make love to you.”

I smiled. “If you can help me keep it up, I’m here, Reg.”

He rolled me to my back and moved over me, separating my legs with his. He rubbed himself on me. “Is this frot?” he asked. “Is this what you like?”

The weight of his strong, tight body on mine, the feel of his hard muscles as I wrapped my arms over his shoulders, was electrifying. I spread my legs wider. “Yeah, Reg. You feel damned good. But tonight, guy, I’ll like what you like.”

Even in the near darkness, I saw hunger flame up in his eyes. He wrapped his strong arms under my shoulders and smothered me in a kiss.

. . . . .

The couch rocked gently when he got up in the morning. A few moments later, he shook my shoulder. “I have coffee for you,” he said, solicitously.

I sat up, trying to clear my head.

Reggie put his arm around my shoulder and held the cup out to me. I took it, blew across the top, testing the heat of it, and then took a sip. Over the rim, I saw Daniel sitting on our mattress and frowning at me as Reggie kissed the side of my head and stroked inside my leg. Then Dan looked away.

Reggie and Peter were the only “morning people” that morning. We were all tired. We shuffled slowly out to breakfast. Reggie stood behind me in the short line, rubbing my back and brushing his heavy cock against my naked butt.

We brought the food back inside to eat. Dan sat back in a chair and I started to sit beside him, but Reggie steered me toward a couch and sat beside me. Every time I glanced at Daniel, he was looking somewhere else.

As we shuffled out to work, I caught up with Dan. “Are you mad at me?” I asked.

“Why should I be mad?” he asked, sounding mad.

“I don’t know.”

He glanced at me, as if he believed that I did know. “Why did you crawl in with Reggie last night.”

“I didn’t ‘crawl in’ with Reggie,” I said. “He woke me up, wanting someone to sleep with him. So I did.”

“Just sleep?” he asked, skeptically.

“Well, no. I mean, once I was there, things heated up a little.”

“Guys!” Reggie called out, catching up with us. “Aaron wants us to finish lining the walkways. They’re going to try spreading out that granite stuff today.”

Dan moved away from me and Reg walked between us, and gave my butt a friendly pat.

. . . . .

None of us said much as we worked that morning. I figured we were all tired and a little sore. I found myself limping slightly because of my knee.

About mid-morning, Peter came running past, half-laughing, half-squealing. Aaron, with a water bottle, was on his heels. Aaron caught him, farther up the path and pinned him down on the landscaping plastic while squirting water all over Peter’s face and in his ear. Peter howled, obligingly.

“Well,” I said, pausing to watch. “I guess we’re almost finished.”

Reggie and Dan paused as well. Down the path, Aaron pinned Peter’s wrists to the ground and worked his knees between Peter’s. He spread Peter’s legs with his own and lowered his body on to Pete’s, cock grinding.

If Dan hadn’t been mad at me, he would have said, “touchdown.”

The three of us half-worked and half-watched, and before long, Peter lifted his knees to the outside and the two of them lubed up with spit. Aaron entered him and they wrapped each other up, Aaron smothering Peter’s smaller body with his own.

The three of us grew hard, but when Reg reached to feel my butt, I stepped aside. “We’ve still got a lot to do, Reg,” I said and he nodded. Nevertheless, the three of us kept an eye on Aaron and Peter until they were done and Aaron gave Peter a hand up.

They returned past us, Aaron’s friendly arm over Peter’s shoulders; Peter smiling broadly.

. . . . .

We gathered late for lunch. Everyone wanted to finish as much as he could. And we did well. The bluff around the pool house had been amazingly transformed into a garden park.

“Guys,” Lenny said, holding up his hands. “Since Friday night, we have planted nine young trees, three dozen shrubs, and two hundred and thirty bedding plants. We built a fire ring, two small retaining walls…”

“Hey,” Reggie yelled. “What are you calling small? You didn’t have to build those walls.”

Lenny laughed. “Two big retaining walls, and over two hundred feet of walkway. You guys have been absolutely amazing!” He ended, clasping his hands together, and for a moment, I thought he might cry.

Aaron laid a hand on the back of his neck and gave it a rub.

“It’s no wonder,” Reggie said. “We worked like dogs.”

“Yeah, fucking like dogs every five seconds,” Peter kidded.

Lenny held up his hands. “Hey, if that’s how you work…”

“Elephant Men!” Jorge yelled out, clapping. And we all clapped, and whistled, and cheered Lenny.

Peter took the last pictures on his last roll of film and then asked who might be able to get them developed.

“Not me, Baby,” Lenny said. “If one of the guys I knows develops them, you’ll all be showing up in magazines.”

“I can,” Dan said, holding up his hand. “I know someone in Houston. We can get them done over Thanksgiving.”

“I want copies,” Reggie called out.

“Me too,” several echoed.

“Elephant Men!” Peter yelled. And we all clapped, and whistled, and cheered once more.

I was bone-tired and hot, so I jumped into the pool before going for food. Over the next hour, we all alternated between eating and swimming. When Aaron and Jorge began to talk about heading home, Peter protested.

“We’ve got to have some kind of parting ceremony thing,” he said. “Last day of gay camp stuff.” He looked pleadingly to Dan as the de facto camp director.

Dan shrugged. “We could have a getting dressed for the first time in almost 48 hours ceremony.”

Peter frowned, disappointed. But then his eyes lit up. “We could have a broiling. Let’s do the whale thing and do a broiling.”

Several assessing glances passed around the group. Did we want to? Could we all get it up again? Cocks began to rise and the glances turned to smiles, one after another… except for Dan. Because Dan didn’t smile, I lost mine.

“But not in the water,” Aaron said. “We aren’t whales. The mattresses are all still out on the floor inside. Let’s pile on in there.”

Peter let out with a whoop and led the way into the pool house. He quickly lay back in the middle of the mattresses and held his arms up and open wide. “Pile on, guys!” he said in invitation.

I was going to hang back with Dan, but Reggie tackled me to the mattresses beside Peter. Aaron piled on. Jorge took down Dan and Lenny piled on Peter. We soon became a mass of humping, moaning bodies.

If you’re a whale and have no hands or a mouth suitable for kissing (and other things), then maybe a broiling is great stuff. And it actually wasn’t bad for us. Before long, I managed to lay the length of my cock in Aaron’s butt crack and was hanging on, rubbing. Reggie hugged me from behind and was poking his erection through the back of my legs and into the back of my scrotum.

It didn’t take long for things to un-broil, though; naturally. Dan and Jorge were playfully wrestling and wound up rolling off like two wrestlers sometimes roll themselves off a mat. Peter and Lenny rolled into the space they left and shifted to a sides-facing sixty-nine.

When Aaron scooted from under me and crawled over to his bag to retrieve his tube of lube, Reggie rolled to his back and pulled me up over him. We kissed and wrapped each other up, rubbing thick cocks on taut bellies.

Aaron knelt beside us and I felt cool lube on his fingers as he slipped them into my crack. He bent over me, kissing my back as he massaged my opening with slick fingers. The massage felt good after the workout I’d had that weekend.

But the massage didn’t last long and soon Aaron was kneeling astride our legs, guiding himself in. I pressed my forehead into Reggie’s cheek as Aaron eased in and hit bottom. He pulled out and pushed in, grinding down on my prostate and my pelvic floor; pushing me down against Reggie.

Aaron began thrusting and soon picked up speed.

“You guys roll to your back,” Reggie whispered. “Let me play with your balls.”

Aaron quickly obliged, rolling to his back and taking me with him so that he was on his back and I was on mine, my back on his belly. Reggie moved down between our legs and spread them. And I felt as exposed and vulnerable as Peter must have on Friday night.

Aaron wrapped his arms high and low around me; one over my chest, one over my waist. I laid one arm over his and reached for my cock with the other. But Reg was already there. He stroked me with one hand and fondled Aaron’s and my balls together with the other. His head disappeared down there and I felt his cool, wet tongue stretch the skin of my scrotum.

Aaron pulled his knees up so that his feet were flat on the floor, close to his butt. That gave him a better angle for thrusting into me. I rested my legs on his, conforming to his shape, his knees under my knees. And I tried to relax as Reggie pleasured himself with my cock and two sets of balls.

“Have you guys ever noticed how perfect guys fit together like this,” Reggie asked. “I mean, like when Aaron sinks all the way in, his balls fit right here,” I felt his fingers probe at the rear of my perineum, right where my butt cheeks parted. I knew what he was talking about, having noticed it before myself and from feeling Aaron’s tightened balls press into the perfectly fitted spot each time he pushed in.

Aaron wasn’t listening. He moved inside me with his thick cock and rubbed my stomach and chest with his hands. I reached up behind my head, clasping the sides of his head, and ground my butt against him, feeling long and lean under his hands. Reggie’s mouth closed over my cock and a high whimper escaped my lips.

I closed my eyes and writhed to Aaron’s pumping, feeling sexy as hell. Reggie lifted his head and watched my body. “Tell me when you’re done,” he said.

“Oh, you’ll know,” I told him.

“Not you,” Reg said. “Aaron.”

I paused and groaned.

Aaron chewed behind my ear when he came and kept chewing and feeling me up, even as Reggie pulled Aaron’s softening cock from inside me like a thick rubber hose, and guided his own in. Aaron held me there, like an offering on a table for Reg who lowered himself onto me, his weight pressing me between their two strong bodies.

I had managed not to come so far; more from recent overuse than from control. But now, the press of Reggie’s lower belly on the underside of my cock and the banging of his pubic bone against my perineum brought me closer and closer.

Amazingly, Reg and I came together, with plenty of mutual groans and whimpers.

Then Reggie slid off to his side and Aaron rolled to his, laying me down on my back between them. He was hard again; Aaron was. And he lifted my legs over his hips and re-entered me on his side.

“I can’t believe you’re going again,” I murmured.

“Last chance, Sullivan,” he said with a grin. He bent at the waist to kiss my nipple, and the two of them rubbed me, handled my balls and cock, stroked between my legs, sucked my nipples, and kissed me; as they held me between their bodies while Aaron thrust.

The others began gathering up their belongings and packing things away. They all went outside and worked at cleaning up.

Meanwhile, Aaron’s hands and Reggie’s hands and mouth had gotten me hard again. I pulled Reggie back up alongside me and put my mouth to his ear. “My turn,” I said. “Back up to me; let’s make a sandwich.”

Reg smiled. “Sandwich man,” he said. But he obliged.

Keeping my butt snug in Aaron’s lap, I rolled to my side so that he spooned me. Reg and I lubed up. And then, holding Reggie’s hip with one hand and my cock with my other, I pulled him back onto it. He was tight. I had to press before I burst through, plunging in two inches at once. Reggie clenched and his tightness at the end of my cock was exquisite. I waited until he relaxed and then pulled him back until his incredibly firm ass was against my loins.

The whole time, Aaron kept pumping. And now I joined him with a rhythm of my own, keeping my strokes short so that we all stayed together. But that was fine; it kept Reggie’s tightness low on my cock, stretching me into him.

Reaching over his side I clasped Reggie’s cock and stroked to keep us all together.

When Aaron came, he stayed in me, holding my shoulders and kissing the back of my neck. I came next with a deep, pulsing plunge into Reg, and I held myself there, tightly clamping down on Aaron in back, pumping out the last of my seed, and furiously stroking Reggie through all my aftershocks until Reg had come as well.

We lay there, and I wondered if I’d ever have the strength to get up. “What a weekend!” Reggie said, breathlessly.

Aaron kissed behind my ear. “What a weekend, Sullivan,” he whispered.

. . . . .

Dan avoided me. He did help me carry the mattress out, but barely talked.

“Are you mad at me again?” I asked.

“Again?”

“Why are you mad?” I asked as we shoved the mattress into the back of the Bronco.

“Why?” he asked. “Let’s see… You knew I liked Reggie. You knew I thought he might be for me like Lenny is for you.” Dan frowned angrily. “He was going to be mine, Sean. But you kept coming on to him. All weekend, you’ve come on to him and you made him fall for you.”

My mouth dropped.

Dan continued. “But I still thought that maybe we’d have a little time to ourselves this afternoon; you and me. But now you’ve screwed yourself silly with Reggie and Aaron and you won’t be worth shit.”

“What?” I asked, not knowing how to begin to respond. “I never came on to Reggie.”

“Come off it, Sean. You come on to everybody.”

“What?”

“You do,” he said, and turned on his heel to walk back to the house.

“Wait!” I called out, catching up with him. “Dan, I…”

He stopped short. “Look. I’m tired, OK? Maybe I’m just tired,” he said. Then he continued on to the house, with me staring after him.

Guys were dressing now. I went inside and pulled on my clothes, and found myself fighting tears. How could Dan think that? How could he think that I came on to Reg? How could he say that I came on to ‘everybody’… well any more than he did, any more than any of us did for that matter. It was part of who we were. It didn’t mean anything. And besides, Reggie came on to me!

Dan had gone outside and now he came back in for his bag. “Peter’s going to give me a ride back,” he said. “You don’t have to. I know you still have a lot of studying to do.”

That was it. That was all it took for my eyes to completely fill with tears. “What did I do?” I asked.

Dan’s look softened, and then hardened again. “We’re both tired, Sean,” he said. “We can talk later. You get on back to the dorm and study. I’ll do the same.”

“But it’s out of Peter’s way. Why don’t you let me take you?”

“I just don’t want to ride with you right now; OK?”

Peter came bouncing back in, gushing about what a great time he’d had. Then he saw me, grew quiet, and left.

Dan left too and I dropped to a couch, wiping my eyes on my sleeves and trying to understand what had happened.

We helped Peter pack up all his gear and the remainder of the food. “This has been so cool,” he said as he hugged me goodbye. “I’d do it every weekend.”

Up until an hour earlier, I might have agreed with him.

“You don’t mind taking Dan home?” I asked, hoping he would say he did.

“Nah,” Peter said, and then he winked. “I told him that he’d have to pay me.”

Peter moved on to Lenny and hugged him. “Are you going to do this again,” he asked. “I can’t come next weekend or Thanksgiving. But even if I can’t get the grill, I can help just about any time you need me.”

Lenny laughed, hugging him back. He kissed him sweetly and whispered something to him that made Peter smile broadly.

“Are you guys coming back next weekend?” Reggie asked. “I can help.”

“Nah, thanks,” Lenny said. “Next weekend I’m just going to finish up a few things. Oh, but be sure to leave me your address before you go so I can mail your check.”

“You don’t have to pay us anything,” Aaron quickly said. “We had a blast.”

Reggie frowned. “I did too,” he admitted. “But I can still use the money.”

“Hey, Baby,” Lenny said, patting his cheek. “You earned it. I’ll let you know the next time I need someone for something like this.”

“Me, too,” Peter quickly said.

“Yeah,” Aaron agreed with a grin. “Anytime we can run around naked all weekend, let us know, and we’ll be there.”

Lenny shook his head. “The owners are likely to be here most of the time.”

“Well, get another job like this,” Jorge said, stepping forward to kiss Lenny goodbye. “And we’ll be there. And sometime, you have to come down to the ranch, OK? We’ll do gay camp.”

“Hey,” Peter said, his eyes lighting up. “Why don’t we do that? Start a gay camp.”

“Oh yeah,” I said. “Get a hundred under-aged guys running around naked and screwing each other silly. We’d be in jail for life.”

Peter frowned. “Nah, it wouldn’t be like that.”

Jorge laughed. “But it’d have to be like that. It’d be a blast!”

Then Dan was in front of me, laying his hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry, Seany,” he said, leaning his forehead against mine. “I love you. You know that, right. I’ll always love you.”

I nodded. “I can take you home,” I said.

He lifted his forehead from mine and stroked my cheek, then gently shook his head. “We’re both tired. It’s not a good time to talk. And you need to get back, do your studying and get some rest.” He looked down at my leg. “Get off your knee. How is it?”

“A little swollen, I think,” I said.

He nodded and then pulled me into a tight hug. “We’ll work it all out,” he said.

“I don’t like leaving it this way,” I said.

“We aren’t. We’ll talk soon.”

He kissed me, and the kiss was as tender as any we’d ever had. Nevertheless, my throat was tight as he rode off with Peter.

Aaron and Jorge left next. Then Reggie was ready to leave. I tried to avoid it, but Reggie gave me a huge hug and a long kiss. “Come up to San Marcos sometime,” he said.

He probably expected me to return the invitation, but I didn’t. He kissed me again. Then Lenny. Then he left.

Lenny came up and laid his hand on my back. “Argument with Dan?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Wanna talk about it?”

I shook my head, but then changed my mind. It would be good to have someone take my side. “He’s pissed at me Lenny. He’s pissed because he said I came on to Reggie.”

Lenny was supposed to be surprised; maybe even appalled that Dan would think such a thing. Instead, he simply led me to the pool wall and then sat beside me expectantly, waiting for me to say more. Well that set me back a bit, and I wound up spilling the whole story to him from how Dan told me he liked Reg and thought Reggie could be his ‘Lenny.’ I told him about how Dan was mad at me that morning when he found out I’d slept with Reg, and how he was mad after I had sex with Reg and Aaron. And I told him how Dan accused me, not only of coming on to Reggie, but to everyone.

“I know he said he was tired, Lenny, but so am I. It wasn’t fair for him to accuse me like that.”

Lenny stroked my hair back above my ear and kissed my cheek, but said nothing.

“Lenny,” I told him. “I don’t come on to everybody.”

“Baby,” he said, rubbing my back. “You do come on to guys; we all do. The gaydar kicks in, or we simply know the guy is gay and we come on to him.”

“That’s not always true. I mean, look at how Rafael came on to me, and I didn’t come on to him at all.”

Lenny cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, not much,” I said. I jumped up from the wall and started pacing. “Damn it, Lenny. You sound like Dan. You make it sound like I’m some kind of slut.”

“I didn’t say that, and you know it, Sean. Dan didn’t either.” Lenny stood up. “Dan was right, you are tired. Maybe we can talk about it later.”

“Talk about what?” I demanded.

Lenny took a deep breath. He definitely looked tired, and sad. He took my hand and sat us back down on the pool wall.

“Sean,” he said quietly. “A little flirting and coming on to guys is natural except for one thing.”

“What?” I asked.

“You and Daniel keep talking like you consider yourselves practically married.”

“Well yeah, but we’ve always messed around with other guys. I mean, we’re guys Lenny!”

He took my hand and kissed it. Then closing his eyes, he pressed the back of my hand to his cheek. “Do you belong to him?” Lenny asked quietly.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation.

“Then you need to act like it.”

I was stunned. “What do you mean?”

Lenny opened his eyes and they were damp. He smiled sadly and dried his eyes on my knuckles. “I’m tired too,” he said. He wrapped his arms around my chest and laid his head on my shoulder. “I know you guys say it’s OK to sleep with other guys when you’re apart. Maybe you two can handle that. But when you’re together, you need to be together. You need to stick only to him, Baby, or if you do other guys do them together and not all on your own. Both you guys did other guys this weekend like it was nothing. I’m not your boyfriend and even I got a little jealous of the way you were doing so much with Reggie and Aaron.”

I stroked his back. “It’s not true to say you aren’t my boyfriend,” I protested. “You’re my San Antonio boyfriend.”

“It’s not the same, Baby, and you know it,” Lenny said, dropping his hand to rub my stomach. “You don’t belong to me the way you belong to Daniel.” His voice grew softer. “I really, really wish you did… but if you did,” he said grabbing hard at my stomach, “I wouldn’t let you screw around all weekend like you did this weekend. You would have stuck to me.”

“It’s different with Dan and me,” I explained quietly. “We’ve always done other guys.”

“But you haven’t always been married. You’ve told me that’s how you look at it, right? Like you’re getting married?”

I nodded my cheek against the top of his head. “Yeah.”

“And how do married people behave?” Lenny asked.

“But we’re guys,” I said softly.

Lenny sat up and looked into my eyes. “Baby, don’t get me wrong; I don’t want to give you up before I have to, but you two need to work this all out. If your ceremony is going to mean anything, it’s got to mean that there’s something different and special between you two.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I guess you’re right. And I was stupid to do so much with Reggie, especially after Dan said he liked him.”

Lenny patted my back. “Yeah, that wasn’t smart.”

“But damn it, Lenny,” I said, frustrated. “I really didn’t come on to him. I really didn’t. Dan’s the gorgeous one; I don’t know why Reggie didn’t just go flat out for him.”

Lenny smiled and smoothed my cheek with his hand. “There’s something about you Sean, that excites guys. It’s your…” he searched for the word. “Your boyishness.”

“What?” I asked with a laugh.

Lenny frowned. “Look, Sean. You’re young and you look younger. You’re damned cute and you’re so fuckin’ innocent.”

“Innocent?” I exclaimed. “I didn’t think you could be gay and innocent.”

Lenny laughed. “You are. You’re so wide-eyed; so damned transparent.”

“I’m not transparent. I’m just not a fake,” I said. “And that doesn’t mean I’m innocent.”

“You don’t even realize it do you?” Lenny asked quietly. “You don’t realize how you look at guys?”

“What?” I asked, tensing. “I don’t go leering at guys and you know it.”

“No,” Lenny said, smiling tolerantly. He patted my tummy. “Just the opposite. You always look so damned happy to see everyone. I mean, it took a little while for me to realize you do your smile thing to just about everybody.”

“My smile thing?”

“Like when you see me, Baby. Even if you just saw me that morning, your face lights up and you look like running into me changed your whole day.”

“It does, you cluck,” I said. “I love you.”

“But it’s not just me, Sean.” He reached up and stroked my cheek. “It’s your smile, Baby. It’s a really great smile, all warm and happy… and boyish. It can melt a guy’s insides. You look at a guy like that often enough and he can’t help falling in love with you.”

“How am I supposed to look at guys, Lenny?” I asked. “Am I supposed to frown at ‘em? Am I supposed to not like guys anymore?”

Lenny considered, thoughtfully, and then shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “All I know is that when one person marries another, they pull in their horns and they save their special smiles for each other.”

The things Lenny said had a ring of truth, but they hurt. Maybe it was because I really was tired; dead tired. But the thought of having to change who I was, even a little – and this didn’t sound like ‘a little’ – suddenly seemed difficult. It came home to me that the promises Dan and I had exchanged could mean real work.

I took a deep shuddering breath and then patted Lenny’s back. “I’ll still keep special smiles for you, Lenny,” I said softly.

Lenny smiled. He stroked my face and kissed me softly. “I know you’re tired Baby and that you have to get back to Trinity. But let me make love to you… we haven’t all weekend and I’ve missed you…. Are you hurting too much?” he asked.

I shook my head. “My knee’s just a little sore. I’m OK. Just not sure I can get it up another time.”

Lenny laughed. “I can get it up for you, Baby.” Then he leaned closer. “But I didn’t mean hurting here,” he said, laying his hand on my knee. “I meant here,” he said, laying his hand on my heart.

I nodded. “It hurts,” I admitted. I placed my hand over Lenny’s and pressed it to my heart.

Lenny smiled, and slipping a hand behind my head, he placed his mouth over mine.

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